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What does #InvestinEd say about the power of the #RedforEd movement?

Arizona Republic
Published 1:56 p.m. MT July 3, 2018

Opinion: What does it say about #RedforEd if an Arizona ballot measure qualifies to raise income taxes on the rich for education?

Amber Yudell, of Phoenix, looks at papers on June 20, 2018, at Mother Bunch Brewery in Phoenix. Arizona Educators United members are collecting signatures in favor of the Invest in Education Act that would fund education by raising income taxes on Arizona's highest earners.(Photo: Brian Munoz/The Republic)

If organizers gather enough signatures by July 5 to qualify for the ballot – which they say they will – what does that say about the #RedforEd movement that helped propel a statewide debate on education funding?

azcentral.com columnists weigh in:

This will tell us a lot about #RedforEd

PHIL BOAS: The success or failure of the Invest in Education Act will tell us much about the sustained influence of #RedforEd. The tax-the-rich initiative was launched by a coalition of education supporters, but make no mistake, this is #RedforEd. Its handprints are all over it.

If #InvestinEd gets on the ballot, it means the #RedforEd momentum continues. If successful in November, a grassroots teachers movement will have radically remade the way Arizona funds its public schools. Wealthy Arizonans will then need to keep a weary eye out for the next social movement that delights in spending other people’s money to solve statewide problems.

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If it qualifies for the ballot, the Invest in Education act would roughly double the income-tax rate on Arizonans making more than $250,000 to help fund Arizona public schools.
Here are the measure’s pros and cons: Photo by David Wallace/The Republic

PRO: The initiative includes raises for other professionals who contribute to students’ education, including nurses and counselors. They deserve better compensation as much as teachers. Photo by Getty Images/iStockphoto

CON: The measure redefines 'teacher' to include them – and not just for the purposes of this initiative. It also would apply to money teachers already receive, further diluting any meaningful raise for them. Photo by Getty Images

PRO: The initiative includes money for all-day kindergarten and raises for support staff, such as bus drivers and cafeteria workers, which also deserve additional compensation. Photo by David Wallace/The Republic

CON: Sixty percent of the money generated would go to teacher pay and the rest would go to school maintenance and operation, including those areas. It’s not enough to make a dent in the needs. Photo by Cheryl Evans/The Republic

PRO: The measure has the support of several education and children’s groups. Plus, polling suggests voters solidly support raising income taxes to fund education. It’s our best shot at boosting education funding. Photo by Rob Schumacher/The Republic

Interested in this topic? You may also want to view these photo galleries:

This is on Ducey and his predecessors

ELVIA DIAZ: Critics and proponents are ready to go to war over the initiative known as #InvestinEd to tax Arizonans earning more than $250,000 annually to fund K-12 public education.

So, let’s do it. Let’s start this war.

But let me warn you. Anyone blaming teachers and using their plight to protect the wealthiest Arizonans won’t work. It won’t work because 45,000-plus teachers are fed up with their miserable pay. They’re fed up with overcrowded classrooms and crumbling buildings.

They’re fed up with politicians and the powerful elite who have kept Arizona public schools underfunded. They’re fed up with the public’s disdain over public education.

#RedforEd may have inspired #InvestinEd, but its success or failure is not on them. It’s on Gov. Doug Ducey and his predecessors, Republicans and Democrats, who did little or nothing for teachers over the years.

Like it or not, they're in the fistfight

JOANNA ALLHANDS: #RedforEd and #InvestinEd are not the same. #InvestinEd began before the teacher walkout, and not all teachers who donned those signature red shirts in protest are on board with the initiative.

That means, for better or worse, #RedforEd will be tied to the income-tax measure and dragged into the fistfight that is about to erupt. I'm not sure #RedforEd has enough political goodwill left over from the walkout to survive four months of a well-funded PR onslaught.

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Danielle Wilson, a music teacher from Gilbert, reacts while a speaker hypes up the crowd on June 23, 2018, during a RedforEd rally outside of the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix. Brian Muñoz/The Republic

Marian Tallon, of Phoenix, waits to go out and collect petitions on June 23, 2018, during a Red for Ed rally outside of the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix, Arizona. "I'm a supporter because education is important," Tallon said. "Students are important. They're our future." Brian Muñoz/The Republic

Caleb Westby, an ear training professor at the University of Oklahoma and Paradise Valley native, plays the clarinet with the #RedForEd Spirit Band on June 23, 2018, during a Red for Ed rally outside of the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix,. Brian Muñoz/The Republic

Kandice Nerlson, a Washington Elementary music teacher from Phoenix, plays the piccolo with the #RedForEd Spirit Band on June 23, 2018, during a RedforEd rally outside of the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix. Brian Muñoz/The Republic

Noah Karvelis, RedForEd organizer, speaks to a crowd on funding disparities in the Arizona education system on June 23, 2018, during a RedforEd rally outside of the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix. Brian Muñoz/The Republic

Noah Karvelis, RedForEd organizer, speaks to a crowd on funding disparities in the Arizona education system on June 23, 2018, during a RedforEd rally outside of the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix. Brian Muñoz/The Republic

Melanie Poll, left, a first grade teacher from Glendale, raises her fist while chanting on June 23, 2018, during a RedforEd rally outside of the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix. Brian Muñoz/The Republic

Fern Ward of Phoenix, smiles while collecting petitions on June 23, 2018, during a RedforEd rally outside of the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix.Tens of thousands of educators walked out of classrooms last month in order to change the course of state budget discussions. Brian Muñoz/The Republic

Kelly Fisher, of Sun City, talks to a live stream on June 23, 2018, during a RedforEd rally outside of the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix. Fisher said that she is one of the original organizers of the #RedForEd movement. "The momentum over the last two to three weeks has been rising like crazy," Fisher said. Brian Muñoz / The Republic

Lesa Antone, left, Patriot Movement Arizona's president, live streams while counter protesting the RedForEd movement on June 23, 2018, during a RedforEd rally outside of the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix. Brian Muñoz/The Republic

A Patriot Movement Arizona member looks on and counter protests the RedForEd movement on June 23, 2018, during a RedforEd rally outside of the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix. Brian Muñoz/The Republic

Angela Philpot, right, signs off on her petition signatures gathered with her daughter McKenna, left, and Morgan as Nell Pederson, far left, certifies them during a RedforEd rally outside the State Capitol in Phoenix on June 23, 2018. Patrick Breen/The Republic

Arizona teachers and supporters gather back at the Arizona Capitol for a rally on June 23, 2018, one month after tens of thousands of educators walked out of class and changed the course of state budget discussions. Brianna Arreguin-Malloy/The Republic

The stakes go far beyond education

ABE KWOK: It would say there’s still momentum from the walkouts that forced big-time concessions from Gov. Ducey and the Legislature. To marshal tens of thousands of teachers to march to the Capitol is one thing; to gather more than 150,000 qualified voter signatures in a matter of two months is another, even if hired petition gatherers were used.

#RedforEd and the teachers’ union have allies and will find themselves with more, especially progressive groups that will look to drive out the vote for the midterms. The ballot measure could make the November election even more partisan. The stakes go beyond education.

This won't be a fair fight

LINDA VALDEZ: #RedforEd defied the “voices of reason” when teachers voted to walk off the job. The public stayed with them. That energy scared some money out of the GOP establishment, which recognized the threat the movement represented to Doug Ducey’s campaign for re-election.

#RedforEd again took the more radical road when they backed the Bernie Sanders-esque tax-the-rich #InvestinEd option, instead of sticking with a sales-tax increase that had more mainstream support.

The public would stay with them in a fair fight. But it won’t be a fair fight.

If #RedforEd files enough signatures, the fight with establishment Republicans will begin with court challenges to keep this off the ballot. If that fails, the public will be barraged with crafty, deceptive, "dark money" campaign ads opposing #InvestinEd.

Ducey will tout the too-little-too-late education funding that #RedforEd squeezed out of him and offer empty promises for more. A smart Democrat could win with #RedforEd energy and pull #InvestinEd to victory. But when was the last time a Democrat played it smart in Arizona?